1. We're not sweating yet.
Apparently is has been an exceptionally cold winter and spring. In the early mornings we're still wearing our jackets. Yay!
2. Appreciating nature's different set of rules in Taiwan.
On the right is a tree with budding blossoms. On the left is a tree with falling leaves. And why not?!
3. Easily making friends.
Theo is an attention magnet and helps us make friends wherever we go. This little girl's name is "Much." Following protocol with all children encounters, we needed to establish who was the older child so we new what they should call each other. It turns out Much is a couple of weeks younger than Theo so we call her "Meimei" (little sister) and Theo is addressed as "Gege" (older brother). Much shared her seaweed snack with Theo and the bonds of friendship were solidified.
4. Time at our park.
Again, we're just loving the fact that the weather is so pleasant. We like to take advantage of our park time in the mornings. Julien is now in soccer club and likes to challenge me to a game of "soccer" on the wooden amphitheater/sitting area where we kick the ball to hit the opponent's goal. Julien keeps the game interesting by slightly altering the rules each game (or mid game). He usually wins--go figure.
Oh, and the bear statues are still at the perimeter of the park and taking photos with them hasn't gotten old yet :)
5. Date with Ryley
Following in my parents' footsteps, I set up yet another system to try and encourage good behavior from within the circus known as our family life. Ryley earned a whole container of the needed coins (plastic old Chinese money with cool square holes in the middle) so we got to go on a Mommy-son date: he requested bowling. I overcame my fears of the unknown and managed, with Ryley's ingenious planning strategy along the way--ask him about it :) --to get us to the game center with a bowling alley, to establish the fact that there were 2 of us wanting to bowl, to eventually understand that the number I was given was a call number for when it was our turn for a lane, to secure properly-fitting shoes, and then proceeded to try and teach Ryley a skill I'm personally really bad at. Fun times!
Mercifully, our scores were erased seconds before the camera captured this shot :)
6. Susan.
For the first time in my motherhood I am experiencing an energizing balance of part-time work (albeit volunteer) and the sweet reunion of a little toddler happy to see me when I come home. I've noticed that I soak up my time with Theo all the more, without feeling like I'm needing to multi-task the whole time.
Theo is talking more and more and I get a cute report of what he and Susan did together during my Chinese lessons or IWAT work. He tells me about going to the park, getting put on time out when he kicked the doggie, eating seaweed, and playing in the balls. Along with being a wonderful babysitter for Theo, Susan helps clean up, do laundry and iron while Theo naps (Did you catch that? Ironing...my family has never had it so good!). She comes 2 1/2 days a week and every other Saturday evening so that Ben and I can go on dates. She speaks Chinese with Theo and gives Julien play lessons in Chinese on Tuesdays--we get him out of school a bit early. She helps me make phone calls and run errands with me when I need communication help. She lets me practice my Chinese and is so encouraging that I'm (at times) understandable. I don't know exactly how to emphasize just how much our family loves this kind, English-speaking Taiwanese lady! It feels good to have the means to give her employment and I recognize the incredible blessing of having met her just at the right time when the main expat family she worked for had an unexpected transfer to Vietnam. She works for at least one other family on a regular basis and is quite involved with her church. I hope that she enjoys her time at our home as much as we love having her here!
7. Project Managment
I've found a a new talent to develop: I've come to discover that I love project management, especially a project that is in a field that fascinates me, who's resulting creations will personally benefit me, not to mention the perk of not having to deal with a boss or any other deadlines other than those I create. Too good to last forever, but I'll enjoy it while I can :) Seeing as how I'm paying for a babysitter to be able to do the work, I guess it's properly viewed as tuition for a skill set that I plan to use in future. After clocking 4500 hours and studying for a rigorous exam, I can get my Project Management Professional certification--yay!
Here's my business card for the work I'm currently doing. I've spearheaded a project to revive the English guide book for Taichung that was created about 8 years ago and has become outdated. I immediately ran into several challenges including the unfortunate discovery that all digital files of the book had been lost! It has been fun to network and meet people to get things rolling. This past Wednesday, 3 of us from the IWAT board took a trip to the capital of Taipei to meet with the director of the international community services center there. It was a very successful meeting and we walked away with more help than we could have hoped for!
8. Successful Toddler Negotiations
Last up on my favorite-things list is loving the moment of satisfaction that comes after a successful negotiation with my toddler. In this instance, Theo's reasonable (although very loud and publicly embarrassing) demands of not being confined under his rain cover while it was raining on the walk to take Julien to school, were met with the compromise of being able to hold the umbrella on the way home. He kept dry. The wailing stopped. And as a perk he calmed down enough to eat the cake the old man at the shop had given him to help calm his terrible tantrum. I took my cut of course (it was a pineapple cake and very tasty :)
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